By : Shawnzy

Chapter : 11

[A/N : So, I apologize if the second half of chapter ten was a bit... odd. I had always planned for it to be a bit dark, possibly darker than I chose to go, but that's the way the words flowed out of my fingers. Also, new feature; I'm going to start listing a few band names and/or song titles in a note at the end of the chapter. Thing I listen to whilst I'm writing. That is all.]

[Disclaimer : I own nothing. All credit to Disney/Square-Enix.]

Zexion had found himself lying awake in the dorm for several hours, Demyx passed out on the floor, head in his lap. His fingers would occasionally stream through Demyx's hair, his eyes fixed on The Lexicon. It was all Zexion had been able to think about. Somehow, Demyx hadn't minded that he was... a sorcerer? A wizard? He began imagining himself in Gandalf robes, sporting a long beard, or standing on Platform 9 ¾. Shaking the imagery from his head, Zexion looked up in time to see Sora trying to sneak back into the room, wincing a little when he made eye contact. Sora's shoulders drooped as he bent down to speak, his voice little more than a whisper. "Sorry if I woke you, Zexion. I promise I tried to be quiet. Riku got a call from his brothers, and decided to pull an all-nighter helping them... though I'm not sure with what, he wouldn't say."

Zexion shook his head slightly, reaching out to give Sora a playful slap on the cheek. "Don't worry about it. This one fell asleep on me... he's been through a lot in the last forty-eight hours." There was a twinge of sadness or regret in Zexion's voice that Sora couldn't help but notice, but chose not to comment on as he responded. "Is there anything I can do? I mean, I don't really know what the trouble is, but if there's anything I can do..." Zexion smiled at the brunette, thinking for a moment before finally nodding. He pointed to The Lexicon, still lying innocently on his bed. "I want you to take that, and hide it from me. I don't care where, and I don't care how, as long as it stays hidden until I ask you for it." Sora opened his mouth to interrupt, but Zexion spoke over him. "The only condition that I have, is that you never open it, under any circumstance. Ever. Will you trust my judgment as... as your friend... and just please swear to me that you will never open it, or read its contents, no matter how compelled you might be?"

Sora's face was a mixture of confusion and fear, and he needed several minutes to think before he could answer that. He walked over to his own bed, eyeballing the book with some degree of suspicion as he kicked his shoes off. Zexion waited patiently, running his fingers through Demyx's hair as Sora flopped down on his bed. Several minutes passed in silence, when finally Sora's voice broke out, still barely above a whisper. "Okay, Zexion. It's really weird, and there's a lot of stuff I want to ask you about, but I think it can wait for now. Take Demyx out for coffee in the morning, and the book will be gone when you guys get back." Zexion let out a sigh of relief, his whole body relaxing a little. "Thank you so much, Sora. I really appreciate it. Might I ask just one more thing of you?"

Sora cocked an eyebrow, tilting his head to the side thoughtfully. "You want me to hide something else?" Zexion chuckled, trying his best not to laugh, as he didn't want to wake Demyx. He quietly cleared his throat before answering, eyes drifting off and looking out the window. "In a manner of speaking, yes. Recent events have caused me to think that Demyx might be in danger. If I am with him, I'll feel a little bit better, but I'd prefer if he weren't alone, so... with your permission, I'd like to have Demyx stay here for the next few days. A week at the most, until I feel that it's safe at his place again." Sora looked as frightened as before, even gulping audibly as he contemplated Zexion's words. This wasn't the type of thing he was used to dealing with, and it was a lot to process. "You know I don't mind if Demyx stays, Zexion, I love him. All this talk is scaring me though... even if I ask, you aren't going to tell me, are you?" Zexion's face fell a bit when he heard that, answering Sora's question for him. "It's okay, I understand why. I'm a scatterbrain, and I say stuff without thinking. If... if Dem's really in some kinda trouble, I don't want to make it worse by saying the wrong thing to the wrong person. So it's best you not tell me at all."

Zexion was about to speak, but before he could, Demyx's voice chimed in. "Sora, don't call yourself a scatterbrain. You're a smart boy with a good heart. Zexion just doesn't want to burden you with our problems; you're better off not knowing what this is about... trust us, alright?" Sora smiled at Demyx, his face flushing a little, as it was prone to do when anyone complimented him or showed him affection. He stood, helping his two friends to their feet and sharing a hug with them. When the hug finally broke apart Sora had a tear on his cheek, but hid it from the other two as he quietly swiped the book off of Zexion's bed. Zexion managed to catch the action out of the corner or his eye, and nodded slightly to Sora. Demyx kissed Zexion on the cheek before turning to Sora and tapping him on the shoulder after the book had been stashed. "One last thing." Sora blushed furiously as Demyx gave him a quick peck on the lips, giggling wickedly. "I love you too, kid." Zexion simply laughed, as he knew that Demyx had meant no harm, and was just an overly affectionate person. Meanwhile, Sora was struggling to for words. He finally managed a weak "I... I..uh..um... th-thanks" after a few moments.

Zexion still had troubled thoughts filling his head, but the happy atmosphere had managed to cloud them with good ones as well, a smile still on his face as he laid down with Demyx for some much-needed rest. "We'll contact Axel and Roxas in the morning; I'm sure at least one of them has been worried sick about you. What we do from there... we'll do carefully, and with all points fairly considered. Okay?" Zexion asked, finally feeling at peace with Demyx in his arms. Demyx nodded, kissing playfully at his chin. "Okay, Zexy..." Demyx then lowered his voice, whispering quietly in Zexion's ear. "Sorry about kissing Sora... I hope I didn't make you angry or anything. I was just feeling a bit mischievous, and he was so adorable. You're not mad, are you?" Zexion simply smiled, nuzzling into Demyx, which was the opposite of how they normally laid together. "No, I'm not angry. Truth be told, the whole thing was rather cute." He adjusted himself as Demyx wrapped an arm around him, and concluded by adding "it's Riku you should be worried about, if Sora decides to tell him". They shared a quiet giggle, and finally drifted off to sleep. It was the most peaceful, dreamless sleep that Zexion had had in a long time, and he was thankful for the loving friends that allowed him to have it.

[The next morning, at the coffee shop in Zexion's building]

Zexion sat across from Axel and Roxas, Demyx leaning into him wearily. They had been discussing how best to handle Saix, as he seemed to be a clear and present danger to all of them. Zexion took a large swig of coffee, and chimed in again. "We managed to escape Saix before, but... you should have seen him. He wasn't in his right mind. Even putting that aside, he seemed to be something beyond a normal angry person... I don't know what he did during his time in the armed forces, but it hasn't left him yet, that much is for sure." Demyx nodded solemnly, wishing that things hadn't turned out like this. Axel pinched Roxas' arm playfully before adding his two cents. "Well, you've already told the police that you were attacked, and to be on the lookout for him. We've told campus security, and passed the notice on to the landlady of our practice space's building as well."

Roxas gave Demyx a concerned look, then glanced around the coffee shop to make sure no one was paying attention to their table. After making absolutely sure, he reached into his bag and slid a small, black, rectangular object across the table to Demyx. It stopped just short, and Demyx was able to identify it rather quickly. "R-Roxas, is that..." Roxas nodded, crossing his arms and maintaining a stern face. "It's my stun gun. Five million volts. I used to carry it when I would walk home from night classes, before Axel and I started dating." Demyx simply gawked at Roxas, letting him finish. "People had gotten robbed, so I thought it was for the best to have some sort of protection, and my parents suggested one of these. I didn't have the permits to carry a gun, so this was the best choice."

Axel was looking away with a sour expression, disregarding the looks of surprise on Demyx and Zexion's faces. Zexion took a mental note, reminding himself to ask Axel about that later. Demyx picked the stun gun up, looking it over, his skepticism clear. "Are you sure, Roxas? I'm not a fighter at all... I don't know if I have the reflexes or the willpower to use this on..." Axel heard Demyx stop the sentence prematurely so he wouldn't have to speak Saix's name. The situation from Dem's childhood was still clearly bugging him, and that fact wasn't going to change any time soon. However, Axel took his 'best friend' title seriously. "Listen, Dem. Roxy and I are worried. You're my best buddy, and my bandmate... I don't want you getting hurt. That little thing isn't going to kill anyone, but it will knock them on their ass. That's the point." Demyx was still apprehensive, but tucked the stun gun away in his bag as he was told. Everyone seemed to have his best interest at heart, and protection was important. "Thank you everyone, really." The group nodded in unison, and shared a moment of silence as everyone got back to their coffees and teas.

[One week later]

After assigning an essay, Demyx's philosophy teacher had let the class out early. Demyx viewed this as great news, despite the fact the he enjoyed philosophy, because it would allow him the opportunity to surprise Zexion and take him out for lunch. As he danced along the sidewalk, headphones blaring in his ears, Demyx reflected on how long it had actually been since he and Zexion had gone on a simple lunch date. Before he was able to pinpoint an exact amount of time, however, Demyx was stopped dead by the sight ahead of him. Saix. It wasn't even that Saix appeared angry, just that he was there, calmly staring at Demyx. Demyx removed his headphones and, against his better judgment, approached his brother. Saix looked relieved that Demyx wasn't running away or something, but Demyx's body language and stern face silenced any chance of him enjoying it. "Listen, Saix; What you did was unforgivable. You attacked me and Zexion, could have killed one or both of us. Do you understand that? What do you have to say for yourself?"

Saix had taken a deep breath, clearly trying very hard to maintain his composure. Demyx gestured for him to get on with it. "Listen, Demyx... it's no excuse, but..." Saix struggled to speak, as this was something he was not allowed to talk about under any circumstance, no matter to whom, or for what reason. "I'm not normal... not anymore. There was a program, one that I volunteered for... I didn't have any reason not to, and thought I had nothing to lose, but... I didn't know what I was getting in to." Demyx had raised an eyebrow, and was showing some miniscule amount of concern, so Saix continued. "I can't really tell you the specifics, but basically, I'm kind of a super soldier." Demyx's face hit flashed a surprised expression, but almost immediately he broke into raucous laughter. After a few moments of laughter, and of strange looks from passersby, Demyx looked up to find a stone-faced Saix looking back at him. "I'm serious, Demyx. I was a lab rat. They shot me up with all kinds of drugs, they made me fight other random test subjects, they... they encouraged me to kill my opponents. They told me that my rages were a tool, something that I could harness and use."

Demyx didn't know if he believed Saix at his word, but this certainly wouldn't be the strangest thing he'd encountered in the last few weeks. Saix cleared his throat, and resumed his explanation. "The program was shut down a month and a half ago, because I... I killed all but one of the doctors when I lost complete control of myself. The last doctor, he told me to go, to run as fast and as far as I could before the military could find me... find me, and use my genetic data to... manufacture... more. More berserkers like me." Demyx was scared. It was one thing for him to think that his estranged brother had been in the military, and scared of him because of that alone, but this... this was something else entirely. Demyx took a deep breath before speaking, trying his best to stay calm. "If what you're saying is true, and I'm not saying that I just automatically believe you, but if it is... then you need some serious help, and a safe place to hide." Saix began to look dejected, but Demyx kept going. "I don't think it's safe for you to be around me right now, or around my fiance, not after what happened last time. Not to mention, if the government sent agents out after you, then you're endangering the lives of everyone around here with your presence alone." Saix's face fell, his massive shoulders slumping as he began to turn. He briefly thought to himself that this was a waste of his time, until Demyx's voice stopped him in his tracks. "I think I might know somewhere you could go."

Saix couldn't express his surprise any better if he tried. Demyx looked away, rubbing his left arm shyly. "It's a long shot, and it probably isn't something you can count on to be permanent, but it's something. You're still my brother, and I still want to help you... if I can." Saix dropped to his knees, causing several people to stop and stare. Demyx was immediately embarrassed, and tried pointlessly to lift Saix to his feet. "C'mon, get up, we can't do this here. The last thing you need to be doing is attracting attention to yourself." Tears were streaming down Saix's face, until he took a moment to wipe them away with his sleeve. "Thank you, Dem. Really, I mean it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart." Demyx finally convinced Saix to stand, and led him off to some tables by the nearest cafe. "Don't thank me just yet, I haven't promised you anything, okay? There's someone we'll have to speak to before this can go any further. In the meantime, you need to lay low, and wait for us to contact you. Can you do that?" Saix nodded, still drying his eyes. Demyx stood to walk away, but Saix grabbed his arm. Demyx almost freaked out at that, but managed to keep calm when he saw no rage in his brother's face. "I'm sorry, Dem." Saix released his grip, but added one final thing. "Who is it that you need to speak to? If my fate depends on them, I'd like to know who we're talking about." Demyx sighed, turning to walk away. "Professor Ansem Wise."

[A/N: Whew! I know that was a bit heavy, but trust me, things will lighten up again very soon. In the meantime, here's my playlist; ]

Animals as Leaders - The Joy of Motion (album)

Periphery - Ragnarok (song)

Origa – Inner Universe (song)

Crosses (††† ) - self-titled album

[Secondary disclaimer: The above bands/songs are in NO way mine, nor do they have anything to do with the story or its characters.]